A Sandwich a Day: Roast Beef at Darwin Cafe in San Francisco

In this great country of ours, one could eat a different sandwich every day of the year—so that's what we'll do. Here's A Sandwich a Day, our daily look at sandwiches around the country. Got a sandwich we should check out? Let us know.—The Mgmt.

[Photograph: Lauren Sloss]

The roast beef sandwich ($9) at Darwin Cafe is piled high on thickly-cut, toasty and charred slices of sourdough, made brilliant by a rich combination of sweet corn aioli and cherry tomato jam. Sweet, creamy, and bursting with flavor, every bite declares "it's still summertime."

Darwin, a pocket-sized cafe tucked away on Ritch Alley in SOMA, changes up their sandwiches every few months (hence the delicious seasonality). While I was most struck by the spreads on this particular one, the meat (thinly sliced, and an ample amount) was tender, salty and flavorful, well complemented by mostly melted slices of cave-aged gruyere.

A healthy sprinkling of crisp arugula cuts through the richness of the rest of the sandwich, balancing the sweet and salty elements nicely. At $9, it isn't the cheapest meal in the neighborhood, but served with an equally fresh and interesting salad (baby spinach, cantaloupe, cucumber, and feta on my visit), Darwin's sandwiches make for an above-average lunch option.

Darwin Cafe

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Lauren is a Bay Area-native whose serious eater status was sealed when she tried Brie for the first time at the age of 6. Since then, she has lived and eaten extensively in Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and London, before making a grand homecoming to San Francisco where she eats at least an avocado a day. She has been writing for Serious Eats since 2011.

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